This invention relates to the field of formulations for orally administered drugs.
To be pharmaceutically effective, an orally administered drug must be absorbed into the bloodstream through epithelial cells lining the gastrointestinal tract. Many drug candidates cannot be orally administered because of poor absorptive characteristics. Hence, the development of reagents suitable for medicinal use that improve oral bioavailability when co-administered with pharmaceuticals is a primary focus in drug development and medicinal chemistry.
A number of potent antibiotics and antibiotic prodrugs have inadequate oral bioavailability on their own. For this reason, such antibiotics are traditionally administered intravenously to treat serious infections. However, intravenous administration is an invasive procedure that is potentially detrimental to the subject (side effects include IV-line phlebitis and sepsis), inconvenient, and costly. Thus, there is a need to develop formulations that enhance the oral bioavailability of antibiotics so as to increase the number of oral antibiotics available to subjects.